Grip

ABSTRACT

A grip comprises a body (1) with an abutment and a suitably spring-loaded clamping jaw (3) which is movable relative to the body and which serves to clamp a rope (4) against the abutment so as to fix the grip in the desired position along the rope. The abutment consists of two thin clips or bands (7,7&#39;) which in their mounted state are spaced apart and are separately applicable to the rope (4) and subsequently connectible with the body on each side of the clamping jaw (3), while completely surrounding the rope.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a grip comprising a body with anabutment and a suitably spring-loaded clamping jaw which is movablerelative to the body and which serves to clamp a rope against theabutment so as to fix said grip in the desired position along the rope.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In prior art grips of the type described above, the abutment consists ofa hook member of substantially crescent-shaped cross-section, whose twoopposite ends are integrally formed with two separate arms which are, inturn, integrally formed with the body proper and between which theclamping jaw is positioned to press the rope against the concave innerside of the hook member. On application of the grip to the rope, theclamping jaw is moved back to an end position which is maximally spacedfrom the hook member and in which the distance between the clamping jawand the hook member is slightly greater than the diameter of the rope,such that the grip can be laterally hooked on to the rope, whereupon aconcavely formed front surface of the clamping jaw is pressed againstthe rope, for example by means of a spring in the body, thereby clampingthe rope in the nip between said front surface and the concave innerside of the hook member. To be reliable, this grip must be provided withan amply dimensioned hook member serving as an abutment. In practice,the hook member thus is of a thickness which is considerably greaterthan half the rope diameter. However, this results in the hook memberprojecting from the rope to a disproportionately great extent so that itstrikes against different types of guide wheels included in, forexample, ski-lifts and similar ropeways, whereby the guide wheelsregularly cause inconvenient rattling noises, in addition to beingsubjected to wear themselves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIVE IDEA

The present invention aims at eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacksof prior art grips and at providing a grip which operates silently whendriving a ropeway, for example a ski-lift, without the demands forreliability being neglected. According to the invention, this isachieved in that the abutment consists of two thin bands of metal whichin their mounted state are spaced apart and are separately applicable tothe rope, each of said bands having two opposite end portions which areconjointly inserted in a slit formed in the body and which are securedin said slit by a locking means, the two bands being positioned each onone side of the clamping jaw which is movable relative to said body, andat the same time completely surrounding the rope.

Since the two bands, in contrast to the hook member in prior art grips,which is open in one direction, completely surround the rope, they canbe made of a comparatively very thin material, without the capability ofthe bands of resisting the compressive force of the clamping jaw beinglost. For comparison, it may be mentioned that when tested, steel bandshaving a thickness of 1.0-1.5 mm appeared to yield a strength which iseven higher than the corresponding strength of a hook member of about 8mm thickness.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

U.S. Pat. No. 660,395 discloses a grip which per se comprises twoband-shaped members which are spaced apart and partly surround the rope.In this grip--which has no kind of movable clamping jaw whatsoever--theindividual band member is, however, clamped against the rope by means ofa pair of nuts which are screwed to threaded, specially designed endportions of the band member and are tightened against the actual body ofthe grip. However, such clamping nuts can readily, even after a shortperiod of use in the difficult surroundings of a ski-lift,inadvert-loosen from their tightened state, and this can be disastrousin particular ski-lifts. In contrast hereto, the inventive grip providesan absolutely reliable connection with the rope for a long time, in thatthe suitably spring-loaded clamping jaw which is disposed between thetwo bands, never runs the risk of coming loose from its rope-clampingstate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a partly sectional view of the inventive grip;

FIG. 2 is a similar view as seen at an angle of 90° relative to the viewin FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the same grip, during mounting on a rope.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

The grip illustrated in the drawing comprises in per se known manner abody which in its entirety is designated 1 and in which at least onespring 2 is arranged for pressing a clamping jaw 3 against a rope orwire designated 4. The clamping jaw 3 is detachably mounted at the freeend of a shaft 5 which is actuated by the spring 2 in such manner thatthe clamping jaw normally is kept resiliently pressed against the rope.To remove the grip from the rope 4, the shaft Can be withdrawn to a rearend position by compression of the spring 2 by means of a screwmechanism 6. Optional components, such as tow rods of a ski-tow or thelike, may be connected to the grip in some suitable manner.

According to the invention, two thin clips or bands 7,7' are arranged asabutments, which are separately applicable to the rope 4 andsubsequently connectible with the body 1 on each side of the clampingjaw 3, while completely surrounding the rope. More precisely, the twobands 7,7' are preformed such that the main portion thereof constitutesa cylindrical configuration of substantially the same diameter as therope 4. The two opposite end portions of each individual band areconjointly inserted in a slit 8 formed in the body and are securedtherein by suitable locking means. In the embodiment illustrated, thelocking means consist of beads or projections 9, e.g. metal rods thatare welded to the ends of the bands. The beads are accommodated in acavity 10 which is formed in the body at a distance from the opening ofthe slit S. In this embodiment, both the slit 8 and the cavity 10 areclosed on one side by means of an outer end wall 11 ensuring that theband cannot slip out of the slit in the direction away from the body.

The grip is mounted on the rope 4 in the following manner. The clampingjaw 3 is removed from the space between the two separate legs 12,12' ofthe body 1, and the two bands 7,7' are applied to the rope by snapaction. Then, first one band is inserted in the space between the legs12,12' and its ends are moved laterally into one of the two slits,whereupon the other band is positioned in the space between the legs12,12' and its ends are moved into the other slit. Subsequently, theclamping jaw 3 is reinserted in the space between the legs 12,12', whilethe spring 2 is still kept in its compressed state by the screwmechanism 6. After that, the screw mechanism 6 is caused to release thespring 2 to act on the clamping jaw 3 which, in turn, presses the rope 4against the halves of the annular bands 7,7', which are spaced from thebody, while the rope is clamped and the grip is fixed in the desiredposition along the rope.

FEASIBLE MODIFICATIONS OF THE INVENTION

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment describedabove and shown in the drawing. Thus, instead of the beads 9 as shown,other locking means can be used for securing the individual abutmentbands to the body of the grip. As locking means, use can be made of e.g.screws or screws combined with clamping jaws which clamp the ends of theband against parts of the body. Moreover, the illustrated end walls 11adjacent to the slits may be dispensed with, so as to render it possibleto insert the ends of the bands into the slits from outside, instead offrom inside. In this case, the ends of the bands can be secured in theslits by other means, such as locking pins, screws or the like.

I claim:
 1. A grip comprising a body having abutment means; movableclamping means; said body having a cavity and slit therein with saidslit being in communication with said cavity; said clamping meanscomprising a spring loaded clamping jaw having a pair of sides, saidclamping jaw being movable relative to said body for clamping a roperelative to said body and for fixing said grip in a desired positionalong a rope; said abutment means comprising a pair of thin metal bands,said bands being positioned one at each side of said clamping jaw, saidmetal bands being spaced apart and adapted to each separately engage andsurround a rope; each of said bands having a pair of opposite endportions conjointly insertable in said slit, said end portions havinglocking means in the form of projections, said projections beinginsertable and securable in said cavity.
 2. The grip as claimed in claim1, wherein said projections are metal rods affixed to said end portions.